UKRAINE CRISIS LATEST:
'Undisguised terror' as Russian strike hits second-largest city Kharkiv
Family shocked by Immigration New Zealand's message to woman in Ukraine
Christopher Luxon says New Zealand must keep independent foreign policy in aftermath of Ukraine conflict
Richard Prebble: Russia's invasion of Ukraine has
Ukraine war: Russian nuke drills confirmed, United States urges caution
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Correction:
— Daniele Palumbo (@Danict89) March 2, 2022
The building on fire is the Economics Department of #Kharkiv National Universityhttps://t.co/SYyP2czzIQ
(49.9992328, 36.2354039)
It is possible #Russia wanted to hit a gov building just across the street https://t.co/cVQuDDBQ98
Russia says it's ready for new Ukraine talks
A Kremlin spokesman says a Russian delegation will be ready on Wednesday evening local time to resume talks with Ukrainian officials about the war in Ukraine.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday that "in the second half of the day, closer to evening, our delegation will be in place to await Ukrainian negotiators."
He did not indicate where the talks could take place.
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There was no immediate word from Ukrainian authorities about their plans.
The first round of talks on resolving the Russia-Ukraine war were held near the Belarus-Ukraine border last Sunday.
They produced no breakthrough, though the two sides agreed to meet again.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of trying to force him into concessions by continuing to press its invasion.
'The Russian doctrine is to get harder and tougher'
UK defence secretary Ben Wallace has weighed in on the state of conflict in Ukraine, warning the worst may be to come as fighting enters its second week on Thursday.
"They are taking casualties the Russians and they are finding it very slow going," he said via Sky News.
The defence secretary said Russia had hit unexpected roadblocks, in large part due to Ukraine's fierce defence of its cities as missiles continue to rain down on civilian areas.
"What we have seen is the tactics weren't correct," he said. "They were rather confident they would take many of these cities in a matter of hours, not days."
He claims Russia has taken far heavier losses than it anticipated when finally hitting the green light on the invasion last week, and warned Vladimir Putin is unlikely to ease on his assault.
"What you're seeing now is the heavy bombardments at night, they won't come into the cities as much, they have … carpet-bombed cities indiscriminately in some cases.
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"They will slowly but surely try to surround the cities and either bypass them or bombard them.
"That is the reality and am afraid it is going to get worse. The Russian doctrine is to get harder and tougher."
Officials report four civilians dead after missile strike
Ukraine officials have reported four civilian deaths, including a child, after a Russian missile strike hit residential buildings in the city of Zhytomyr, roughly 120km west of the capital of Kyiv.
Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs tweeted that at least 16 people were injured.
"So far, four people have died, including a child," government official Anton Gerashchenko said.
The Ukraine Ministry of Foreign Affairs shared video of the aftermath of the reported strike on Twitter. The footage shows rescue workers hauling away debris in search of survivors.
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The Ministry claimed the rubble was what was left of a maternity home, accusing the Russian government of "genocide".
Russian airborne troops land in Kharkiv
The Ukrainian military reported Russian airborne troops have landed in Kharkiv and have been met with fire from local troops after attacking a hospital.
The city is now awakening after a devastating day of attacks on Wednesday, which saw civilian sites targeted by missiles.
At least 21 people were killed and another 112 were wounded in shelling in the eastern city, according to the city's governor Oleh Synyehubov.
It comes as the nation prepares for another long day of uncertainty, with analysts fearing today could be the beginning of Putin's largest airborne assault on Ukraine.
Kharkiv Region police chief Volodymyr Tymoshko confirmed that no Ukrainian troops were killed in the battle for the military hospital.
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"Currently the situation near the hospital is under control, security has been strengthened," he said via Sky News.
Zelenskyy pleads with West
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy begged the West to intervene to stop a genocide in his country after Russia intensified its bombing campaign.
Zelenskyy implored Nato to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine as a missile struck a television tower close to the Babyn Yar Holocaust memorial in Kyiv. In September 1941, the Nazis murdered 30,000 Jews within a 48-hour period in the Babyn Yar ravine.
"To the world: what is the point of saying never again for 80 years, if the world stays silent when a bomb drops on the same site of Babyn Yar? At least 5 killed. History repeating…," he tweeted.
Russia earlier issued a chilling warning for Kyiv residents, ordering them to escape now ahead of a new wave of brutal attacks by "high-precision weapons" on the capital.
At least five people were killed after Russian missiles hit Kyiv's TV tower. It is believed to be part of a deliberate strategy of targeting essential facilities, apparently in a bid to demoralise the Ukrainian people.
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Looks like a Russian strike right on the center of Kharkiv, in the main square right by the local government HQ this morning. pic.twitter.com/VivkeHCFr3
— max seddon (@maxseddon) March 1, 2022
As a result of the strategy, Russia's defence ministry has urged residents living near critical infrastructure to flee their homes for their own safety.
Since the invasion began, more than 600,000 refugees have fled the nation, according to the UN, with UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi claiming the situation "could become Europe's largest refugee crisis this century".
Russia's nuclear submarines and mobile missile launchers have carried out drills just days after Putin's chilling revelation that Russia's deterrence forces had been placed on high alert.
In a statement, Russia's Northern Fleet confirmed several of its nuclear submarines had participated in the exercises in the Barents Sea designed to "train manoeuvring in stormy conditions".
It also confirmed that warships protecting the Kola Peninsula would join.
The Associated Press reported that Russia's Strategic Missile Forces also dispersed intercontinental ballistic missile launchers in eastern Siberia to practise covert deployment.
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United States urges caution
AP reports the US has injected a strong note of caution into the persistent reports that Russian military progress — including by the massive convoy outside Kyiv — has slowed, plagued by food and fuel shortages and logistical problems.
One senior defence official said that the US has seen Russian military columns literally run out of gas, and in some places running out of food, and that morale is suffering as a result.
But the official added that it is important to be pragmatic. The Russians still have a significant amount of combat power that has not yet been tapped, and "they will regroup, they will adjust, they will change their tactics".
The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military assessments. Overall, the US assesses that Russia has launched more than 400 missiles into Ukraine, of various types and sizes.
As of Wednesday (NZT), the Ukrainian air and missile defence systems remain viable and are being used. Also, weapons from the US and others continue to flow into Ukraine. The official said that the aid is getting to the Ukrainian military and troops are "actively using these systems".
A senior Western intelligence official, who had been briefed by multiple intelligence agencies, estimated that more than 5000 Russian soldiers had been captured or killed so far.
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Russian forces escalate attacks
The official said Russians have made progress in the south, moving along two routes out of Crimea – one to the northeast and one to the northwest.
It's not clear that Russians have taken control of Kherson, but heavy fighting continues.
The official said they have not yet advanced into Mariupol, but are close enough to strike into the city with long-range weapons.
"Nobody will forgive. Nobody will forget," Zelenskyy vowed after the bloodshed on the square in Kharkiv.
Closed-circuit television footage showed a fireball engulfing the street in front of the building, with a few cars rolling out of the billowing smoke. An emergency official said the bodies of at least six people had been pulled from the ruins, and at least 20 other people were wounded.
"You cannot watch this without crying," a witness said in a video of the aftermath, verified by the Associated Press.
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Footage shows the moment tanks fire at an apartment building in Kyiv, nearly hitting the person filming https://t.co/XW1KUuqQds pic.twitter.com/X7YQtLKiiy
— ITV News (@itvnews) March 1, 2022
Zelenskyy's office also reported a powerful missile attack on the site of the Babyn Yar Holocaust memorial, near the tower. A spokesman for the memorial said the extent of the damage at the Jewish cemetery would not be clear until daylight.
Britain's Ministry of Defence said they had seen an increase in Russian air and artillery strikes on populated urban areas over the past two days.
Ukraine fighting back
AP reports Ukraine has effectively asked that Russia be kicked off the internet.
In a letter sent Monday to the president of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, Ukraine's deputy minister for digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, cited the "atrocious crimes" of Russia's invasion, including its alleged breach of the Geneva Conventions in attacking civilian targets.
In Melitopol, unarmed Ukrainians are confronting the Russian soldiers. They are chanting "Occupants" and pushing the vehicles back. pic.twitter.com/PMges2cHhU
— Franak Viačorka (@franakviacorka) March 1, 2022
Federov said the crimes "have been made possible mainly due to the Russian propaganda machinery" and cited cyberattacks "from the Russian side" that have impeded the ability of Ukrainians and their Government to communicate.
Federov asked that ICANN revoke, permanently or temporarily, the domains .ru and .su and shut down the root servers in Moscow and St Petersburg that match domain names and numbers.
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"Russian citizens must feel the cost of war," Government spokesman Oleksandr Ryzhenko said Tuesday.
ICANN had no immediate comment but the regional internet naming authority for Europe and the former Soviet Union, RIPE NCC, rejected the request.
A senior Western intelligence official, who had been briefed by multiple intelligence agencies, estimated that more than 5000 Russian soldiers had been captured or killed so far.
It comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that prohibits taking more than $10,000 worth of foreign currency in cash and "monetary instruments" out of Russia.
The move comes in response to the crippling sanctions Western nations have imposed over its invasion of Ukraine, which this week tanked the ruble and sent Russians flocking to banks and ATMs in fear for the fate of their savings.
Other measures Putin ordered this week included obligating Russian exporters to sell 80 per cent of their revenues in foreign currency, prohibiting Russian residents from providing non-residents with foreign currency under loan agreements and from depositing foreign currency into foreign bank accounts.
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As a result of the strategy, Russia's defence ministry has urged residents living near critical infrastructure to flee their homes for their own safety.
Since the invasion began, more than 600,000 refugees have fled the nation, according to the UN, with UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi claiming the situation "could become Europe's largest refugee crisis this century".
